Is every toric variety an M-variety?

A complex algebraic variety X defined over the real numbers is called an M-variety if the sum of its Betti numbers (for homology with closed supports and coefficients in Z/2) coincides with the corresponding sum for the real part of X. It has been known for a long time that any nonsingular complete toric variety is an M-variety. In this paper we consider whether this remains true for toric varieties that are singular or not complete, and we give a positive answer when the dimension of X is less than or equal to 3.Comment: 13 page

Generalized Futaki Invariant of Almost Fano Toric Varieties, Examples

The interpretation, due to T. Mabuchi, of the classical Futaki invariant of Fano toric manifolds is extended to the case of the Generalized Futaki invariant, introduced by W. Ding and G. Tian, of almost Fano toric varieties. As an application it is shown that the real part of the Generalized Futaki invariant is positive for all degenerations of the Fano manifold V_{38}, obtained by intersection of the Veronese embedding of ${\bf P}^3\times{\bf P}^2 \subset {\bf P}^{11}$ with codimension-two hyperplanes.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX2

Toric Hyperkahler Varieties

Extending work of Bielawski-Dancer and Konno, we develop a theory of toric hyperkahler varieties, which involves toric geometry, matroid theory and convex polyhedra. The framework is a detailed study of semi-projective toric varieties, meaning GIT quotients of affine spaces by torus actions, and specifically, of Lawrence toric varieties, meaning GIT quotients of even-dimensional affine spaces by symplectic torus actions. A toric hyperkahler variety is a complete intersection in a Lawrence toric variety. Both varieties are non-compact, and they share the same cohomology ring, namely, the Stanley-Reisner ring of a matroid modulo a linear system of parameters. Familiar applications of toric geometry to combinatorics, including the Hard Lefschetz Theorem and the volume polynomials of Khovanskii-Pukhlikov, are extended to the hyperkahler setting. When the matroid is graphic, our construction gives the toric quiver varieties, in the sense of Nakajima.Comment: 32 pages, Latex; minor corrections and a reference adde